MAGYAR NEMZETI BANK
3.9 THE MNB’S ACTIVITY IN THE AREA OF SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY Based on the social responsibility strategy announced in line with the fundamental values and vision set out in its Statutes, the MNB considers serving the public good and providing support for the implementation of value creating objectives of the society as a whole without jeopardising the fulfilment of its basic tasks and to the debit of its sustainable profit as its mission. The main elements of the strategy are the reinforcement of financial literacy, the renewal and enhancement of the system of education (primarily higher education), the training of economists and financial training, supporting scientific activity, the preservation and protection of national cultural values as well as contributions to charitable initiatives. The 2020 achievements in the central bank’s social responsibility activity contributed significantly to meeting these strategic objectives. The Pallas Athena Public Thinking Programme forms a key element of the MNB’s social responsibility strategy. In the implementation of the programme, the central bank considers it to be its task to enhance financial literacy, financial awareness and the underlying economic and social thinking, as well as the related institutional system and infrastructure. With a view to achieving the defined goals, the MNB works to renew and enhance education (primarily tertiary education) and the system of economics and financial training, and to support scientific activity and financial literacy. The programmes supported by the MNB and its foundations are partly its own initiatives and are partly realised through partnerships with participating institutions.
Higher education programmes and cooperation As part of implementing the MNB’s corporate social responsibility strategy, the MNB has announced, for the fifth time, the MNB Scholarship of Excellence for students of economics participating in bachelor and master programmes relevant to the central bank’s activity, for the 2020/2021 academic year. In the 2020/2021 academic year, 541 students at 25 Hungarian higher education institutions were granted this scholarship. In 2020, the MNB renewed its cooperation with the priority partner universities (Corvinus University of Budapest, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, University of Debrecen) for the 2020/2021 academic year. Regular academic competitions for the students of the partner universities were announced.
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ANNUAL REPORT • 2020
The cooperation between the MNB and the Corvinus University of Budapest (CORVINUS) has been continuous since 2015 and has become the central bank’s largest education programme over time. The most significant results of this cooperation include the MNB Department, which has been continuing its operation as an independent institute, as the MNB Institute since the summer of 2020 and the Economic Geography, Geoeconomics and Sustainable Development Department operating within the organisation of the Institute for International, Political and Regional Studies. Similarly to the cooperation with Corvinus, cooperation aimed at implementing various educational projects with prestigious institutions of Hungarian higher education, the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME) and the University of Debrecen (DE) continued during the 2020/2021 academic year. Within the framework of the cooperation with BME, two large professional workshops were established in the first support period: the Digitalisation, Artificial Intelligence and Data Era Workshop as well as the Green Finance and Green Economy Workshop, within the framework of which joint research projects and curriculum development were implemented with the involvement of teachers from BME and experts from the MNB. In the 2019/2020 academic year, within the cooperation with DE, two subjects with renewed content were introduced with great success. The transformation of the MNB’s higher education cooperation with institutions other than the priority partners into a horizontal programme is in progress under the title ‘University network for sustainable development’. The MNB is actively involved in the ʻEastern Opening’ policy announced by the Government of Hungary, and assists the settlement of the Fudan University in Hungary. In order to strengthen these efforts, Chinese research groups in Hungary and priority actors were supported by the MNB, and a cooperation agreement was concluded in 2020 between the ʻModern Far East Research Group’ operating at the Pázmány Péter Catholic University and the MNB. The primary objective of the operation of the Oriental Business and Innovation Center (OBIC) founded by the MNB and the Budapest Business School is to support the training of young professionals (economists, international relations experts) who speak Eastern Asian languages and know the culture and economy of Eastern Asian countries and regions. In cooperation with John Von Neumann University and as a dual corporate partner, the MNB participates in the training of students in Business Management courses. In
